Returns, refunds, and promotions are all integral parts of ecommerce, and customers expect these experiences to be convenient and fast. However, scammers are increasingly leveraging retailers’ return processes, refund policies, and promotions to steal merchandise, recover cash, and in some cases even compete with retailers. Even more frustrating, otherwise good customers can be tempted to commit this type of fraud, especially in difficult economic times.
According to the November 2021 PYMNTS report, more than 60% of e-commerce retailers who reported incidents of customer fraud also reported an increase in fraud incidents year-over-year. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of e-commerce companies surveyed by PYMNTS reported promotion abuse, half reported unintended/not received item fraud, and 44% reported return policy abuse Did.
At the same time, customers expect convenience and discounts, especially when shopping online. A March 2021 ClearSale survey of consumer attitudes about fraud and customer experience across five countries found that 61% cited convenience as a reason to shop online instead of in-store, 43% % mentioned sales, specials and coupons. How can retailers protect themselves from policy abuse without adding extra friction to their loyal customers? Solutions start by identifying policy loopholes and using data to close them. increase.
Return fraud trends and prevention strategies
Return fraud costs U.S. retailers more than $12 billion annually because most returned items cannot be relisted at their original retail price. Scammers have many ways to perpetrate return fraud, and as with all types of fraud, new strategies are constantly evolving. One of the most common types of cheats for him is the wardrobe. This means that the item has been worn or used before being returned as unused. Wardrobes are most common for designer clothes and accessories, but electronics such as televisions are also “warded” by scammers who want to watch big sporting events or stream movies at home without having a TV. be robed.
BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store) return fraud takes several forms. For example, a scammer could order an item online using a stolen credit card and then bring the item to the return counter in the store for cash. More adventurous scammers may steal items directly from retailer racks and return them to service desks. When retailers require receipts for in-store returns, professional scammers often create fake receipts to support their return claims.
Other return scam tactics involve falsifying the return itself in some way. Empty box fraud occurs when a customer orders an item, requests a return authorization, and returns the box empty using the return label. This allows the customer to receive credit on their card and claim that the box was opened in transit. Bricking occurs when a customer removes a salable component such as a hard drive or graphics card from an electronic device, resells it, then reassembles and returns the empty product.
The most effective solutions to prevent return fraud include high-visibility tamper-evident tags to prevent wardrobes, return policies that replace cash refunds with store credit or product exchanges, and receipts for in-store returns. includes the requirement to present a certificate and ID. Another option is to refund only to the original card that purchased the item. This helps eliminate scammers who create fake receipts.
All of these options help legitimate customers get their orders right while deterring scammers, as long as the retailer displays these policies clearly in-store and online. can also analyze customer return histories and flag orders from repeat returners for secondary review and potential blocking.
Refund without funding scammers
Like return fraud, non-receipt fraud leads to refunds from retailers. As package theft is an increasing problem, retailers facing refund requests for lost items should first track and confirm delivery of the package. Real-time data on package locations can impact the number of customers who place an order and then falsely claim that they never received it.
Next, take a closer look at your refund request data. Are there certain products that receive a disproportionate number of refund requests because they do not arrive or are not as described? can be reduced. Other patterns to look for in data for products with frequent refund requests are multiple orders from the same person, payment method, IP address, or shipping address. Either could indicate a coordinated fraud attack. Finally, consider submitting all new orders for these items for secondary review.
Prevention of promotional abuse
Promotional abuse occurs when customers manipulate your system to get more value than you intended from free trials, coupons, sales, or other promotions. This kind of scam is very common. For example, more than half of customers in stores tried to redeem expired coupons.
The solution for stores is to prevent cashiers from overriding management of expired or non-combinable coupons at checkout. This is a more effective solution than asking the cashier to call you yourself. That’s because 57% of his cashiers said he manually disabled ineligible coupons her control when meeting customers face-to-face.
Checking orders online for the same IP address, device ID, and other data can also help identify promotional abusers. These are scammers who create multiple email addresses to get lifetime free trials of streaming media and software, or bulk products with per-customer limits during sales. For example, if 10 different email addresses log in from the same IP address on the same day and each customer is limited to buying 2 sale items, it could be a promotional scam. We recommend submitting your order for a second review when you see these flags.
Combat policy violations with customer experience in mind
Emphasis on secondary screening as 40% of good customers with rejected orders will boycott the retailer, according to data from a March 2021 ClearSale survey of online shoppers in five countries is essential. Instead of automatically rejecting orders flagged for fraud, our expert reviews will help you identify policy abuse from good customers who are following our rules for taking deals or requesting returns or refunds. person can be separated.